TRAGIC DEATH: Community Rallies For Family

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TRAGIC DEATH: Community Rallies For Family

The same day that a Des Moines mother laid her toddler to rest, the community is coming together to support her.

“She was running on empty, she’s running on empty now, and we need to get some bills paid for them, so that’s what the whole purpose or this whole thing is to help them financially, that’s what they need,” says family friend Lena McElvogue.

Aleena Coe passed away this week, three months after the little girl accidentally pulled the family’s television down on top of her.

Following the funeral, friends and family held a benefit at the Main Gate bar Des Moines.

At the event, the crowd honored the Good Samaritan who stopped on the side of the road to give Aleena CPR until paramedics arrived.

The family says his act helped give them more time with Aleena before she died.

“I just thought I was helping a little girl that was in need, and that’s all I was doing, and for what it was worth, I may have gave the family some peace, some closure, and they understood better, rather than a sudden death,” says John Lamb of Des Moines.

A fund is set up to help the family with expenses. You can donate at any Community State Bank, under the Aleena Coe trust fund.